1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to latch lock assemblies, and more particularly to deadbolt latch housing and faceplate assemblies.
2. Background and Prior Art
Conventionally, deadbolt locks for doors contain a deadbolt latch supported within a cylindrical latch housing which is mounted in a lateral bore of the door and a lock cylinder mounted in a transverse bore in operational coupled relationship with the deadbolt latch. The latch housing is anchored within the door by a faceplate which is fixed to the latch end of the housing, and securely mounted flush with the door edge surface.
In wooden doors, the faceplate is conventionally rectangular and fits within a recess chiseled in the door edge circumscribing the lateral bore. The faceplate is secured to the door edge by a number of screws.
In metal doors, a circular faceplate is conventionally utilized in place of a rectangular faceplate, since it is not possible to chisel a recess in the metal door edge. The circular faceplate may include a plurality of serrations or teeth around its periphery which grab the inner bore surface when hammered flush with the door edge surface.
High security conventional deadbolt locks are usually provided with faceplates permanently fixed to the end of the latch unit. A pair of ear tabs extending perpendicular to the end of the housing are sandwiched between the rectangular faceplate and a backing plate fixed to the faceplate rear surface, while the circular faceplate is crimped around the cylindrical surface of the housing.
Because of the need to use a circular type faceplate in certain doors, both types of deadbolt latch units have had to be produced. At the manufacturing stage, this required the shearing off of the ear tabs on housing units to be provided with the circular faceplates, and subsequent crimping of the circular faceplate to the cylindrical housing. In addition, the housing ear tabs had to be between the rectangular faceplate and the backing plate, and the backing plate subsequently fixed to the rectangular faceplate. Thus, extra manufacturing processes have been required to provide both configurations of deadbolt latch unit, resulting in increased costs.
Additionally, retailers have had to either maintain duplicate inventory to meet potential demand, or where inventory shelf space was restricted, could only stock one half the optimal quantity of each type of deadbolt latch unit.
The conventional latch units also presented a burden to professional locksmiths who have had to carry both faceplate types to installation jobs where the door style is not known in advance.
A prior art attempt at solving the problems noted above provides a throwaway rectangular adapter which bayonets onto a circular faceplate permanently fixed to the latch housing. However, this two-piece faceplate configuration has a shoddy appearance, which causes negative customer impact. In addition, the rectangular adapter piece is not capable of being permanently fixed to the circular faceplate, and thus there exists the possibility of latch misalignment and possible malfunction with continuous use over a period of time.